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Gandalf

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Realistically, a soft coup followed rapidly by elections the best hope for avoiding significantly more bloodshed in Tunisia. - Marc Lynchhttp://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/11/arab_regimes_on_edgeIt's very clear that most Arab regimes are on edge over the possibility of the spread of the protests in Tunisia and Algeria. Arab columnists and TV shows have been excitedly debating the real causes of the protests and what they might mean, while in country after country warnings are being sounded of a repeat of the "Tunisia scenario." It's not at all clear whether these protests actually will spread yet, as regimes on high alert will not be taken by surprise and local conditions vary dramatically.

Libyan leader Moamar Kadhafi Saturday on the other hand said he regretted the fall of Tunisia's authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali which had left the country in "chaos with no end in sight.""You have suffered a great loss... There is none better than Zine (Ben Ali) to govern Tunisia," he said in a speech broadcast on state radio and television."I do not only hope that he stays until 2014, but for life," he said, stressing that he considered Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday, still to be the "legal president of Tunisia under the constitution.""He did good things for Tunisia," he said, hailing his handling of the country's economy."Tunisia, a developed country that is a tourist destination, is becoming prey to hooded gangs, to thefts and fire," he said, adding that Tunisia was "in chaos with no end in sight."And he said the Tunisian people were the "victims of lies" broadcast on the Internet which had played a large part in Ben Ali's ouster.

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Yemen protests: Thousands call on president to leaveTawakul Karman, centre, chants slogans along with other protesters in Sanaa, 26 January Rights activist Tawakul Karman (centre) heads the group calling on President Saleh to step downThousands of Yemenis are demonstrating in the capital Sanaa, calling on Ali Abdullah Saleh, president for more than 30 years, to step down.'Tunisia-inspired'There have been a series of smaller protests in the lead up to Thursday's mass demonstrations.On Saturday, hundreds of Sanaa University students held competing protests on campus, with some calling for President Saleh to step down and others for him to remain in office.Over the weekend, Yemeni authorities arrested prominent rights activist, Tawakul Karman, accusing her of organising the anti-government protests. Her arrest sparked further protests in Sanaa.After her release from prison on Monday, she told CNN that there was a revolution taking place in her country inspired by Tunisia's so-called Jasmine Revolution.Protests in Tunisia have ended 23 years of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's rule and ignited unrest elsewhere in the region, including Algeria and Egypt.

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Authorities in Egypt are bracing for the possibility of further protests, following two days of unrest that have left at least four people dead.On Wednesday night, activists remained on the streets of the capital, Cairo, and of Suez, defying official warnings.The government says the protests are illegal and has launched a crackdown, arresting up to 1,000, reports say.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on Egypt to "respond to the legitimate needs" of the people.The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says that while the protesters are still only a minority of Egyptians, they show no sign of fading away and there is a chance that many more people will join once the working week finishes on Thursday.The government appears to have no answer to the anger and disappointment being expressed on the streets, our correspondent adds - its only response so far has been to crack down on demonstrators and increase security.The opposition figure, Mohamed El Baradei - the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog - says he is returning to Egypt later on Thursday to take part in the protests."I am going back to Cairo and back onto the streets, because, really, there is no choice. You go out there with this massive number of people and you hope things will not turn ugly, but so far, the regime does not seem to have got that message," he said in remarks on US website The Daily Beast.Many Egyptians would no longer tolerate Mr Mubarak's government even for a transitional period, he said, adding that the suggestion that authoritarian Arab leaders like him were the only bulwark against Islamic extremism was "obviously bogus"."If we are talking about Egypt, there is a whole rainbow variety of people who are secular, liberal, market-oriented, and if you give them a chance, they will organise to elect a government that is modern and moderate."